Christmas baking (with Neat and Tangled)

Hi there!

We just wrapped up our annual Christmas cookie exchange party, and I did a ton of baking. I love everything about holiday flavors and smells! This card will be the perfect companion to a tin of cookies for our neighbors.

I used images from Holiday Baking to create the scene - the little mouse handing off a carton of milk is my favorite. 

Because the critters are small, but I wanted them to take center stage without the bigger bear and bunny found in the set, I placed them onto our Classic Tag 1 shape. The scene on top, and sentiment on the bottom worked really well, with a little banner flag to divide the two and ground the images.

I'm not sure if the card could scream Christmas any more than it does: the red milk carton, the green holly leaves and cake plate, the candy cane striped paper, and the knit green paper on the card-base (that last one is by Lawn Fawn. The lettered patterned paper is by Pinkfresh.)

If you love holiday baking as much as I do, you could give these cookies a try - I made almost 12 dozen of them this past weekend and they are yummy: white chocolate chai snickerdoodles. The only change I made to the recipe was to add some cinnamon to the cookie dough. I wanted it to feel warm all the way through.

Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

25 days of Christmas tags - Neat and Tangled

Hi there!

I'm joining Tracy McNeely for her annual 25 Days of Christmas Tags event.

There are different sponsors for every day of the event - today, we're showing off our best Neat and Tangled tags.

I created 2 bunny tags for you today. First up, a little buffalo check for Christmas never hurt anybody:

I used the bunny from Holiday Baking, and gave him a stocking (from Elfs and Their Shelf) to hold.



I used the Journaling Alphas dies to cut out a huge "to." I love how skinny those letters are!

My next tag features the newer bunny from Bunny Slopes:



I doodled in a little sweater for him, and I kind of love it.

I used the same tag shape, and added the Stitched Slopes to give him some bunny hills.

The sentiment is from Merry Kisses.

The tag base was inked up with a Distress Oxide ink and then I splattered large droplets of water onto it. geez. Now I feel like I want more Distress Oxide inks. This color is Salty Ocean. What are other must-have colors?

I hope you liked my tags, and thanks for stopping by!

♥.

joy of the season (Neat and Tangled release week)

Hi there!

I can't even believe it, but welcome to the LAST release week of the year over at Neat and Tangled! And it's a good one! We're kicking things off with a hand-lettered set from Danielle, Wishing You Love:

I paired it the bear from Holiday Baking and the snowglobe from Elfs and Their Shelf.



The biggest greeting was heat-embossed onto a sheet of Buffalo Check patterned paper. Honestly, can we just have one paper manufacturer make a whole pad of these? In black and white, and red and black? That would be awesome.

The bear comes holding a mixing bowl, but I made an adjustment so that he could hold the snowglobe. I stamped the bear again onto another scrap piece of white cardstock, and trimmed out the paw at the forefront. The snowglobe is a big enough image that could cover the mixing bowl, and you hardly notice the seam of the extra paw I stuck on. Not hard, and a great way to stretch my stamps!

I finished off by framing the piece with a dashed-line border using a white gel pen. I like the pop that it gives!

I hope you like it! There's more to check out on the NT blog this morning - click!

Before you go, don't forget to leave a comment to be eligible for a 25$ gift card, drawn at the end of the week from comments left  on all of the participating blogs.

♥.

Special delivery (Neat and Tangled release week)

Hi there!

Welcome back to day 2 of this month's Neat and Tangled release week. Today, we're showing off an incredible treat packaging die designed by the always-innovative Miriam Prantner. This truck comes together so easily! The main part of the truck is all 1 piece, which is incredible. I hate finnicky box dies. There are a ton of little tiny pieces that you could use to decorate the truck, but if you're like me (with the fat fingers and the hand shakes) you could leave many of them out and still have a really cute finished box.



I'm still in Christmas mode, so I decorated a little treat package to gift out to the kids for advent.

The snowman is from Beary Merry, and the figgy pudding and sentiment are from Holiday Baking. They fit so perfectly in the back window! It looks like a little food truck window!



The top view gives you an idea of how the truck closes at the top - isn't that so perfect?



I was able to fit 2 of these Lindor chocolates inside, in case you'd like to have an idea of how big the box is.

I hope you like it! There is so much more truck inspiration on the NT blog this morning - click! 

♥.

Neat and Tangled release week wrap-up

Hi there!

I'm blown away by all the sweet comments for my 2 new sets with Neat and Tangled. They will be available for purchase in the shop by 8am EST - I can't wait to see what you create with them!

I didn't create another card for today, but I did have fun coloring images and seeing what else I could do with them:



It started as a little experiment, to see if the bear from Holiday Baking could holding something other than the mixing bowl he comes with. I stamped and fussy-cut an extra arm, and tucked in the snowglobe from Elfs and Their Shelf. It was easier than I thought! I cut away the top of the wooden spoon and it looks perfect. I can't wait to use him on a holiday tag!

Then, I got to thinking about that bunny. With an outstretched arm, he could hold just about anything! The stocking (also from Elfs and Their Shelf) is a perfect fit.

The fox from Schoolhouse also has an outstretched arm, so I gave him that Santa mug (which is still my absolute favorite.) The little mice from Schoolhouse would be perfect for holding up holiday things too (but I didn't color them for now and you'll find out why TOMORROW. It might have something to do with something that mashes up the words S-T-A-M-P and S-E-P-T-E-M-B-E-R. But that's all I'll say about that.)

What do you think? Happy shopping this morning!

Merry Kisses:

Holiday Baking:

♥.

Holiday baking (Neat and Tangled release week)

Hi there!

I'm really excited for today's post! We're showcasing my newest set for Neat and Tangled, Holiday Baking.

Fall and Christmas baking are my favorite: everything apple and cinnamon and warm spice. yum! I wanted to create a set that I could use to accompany the baked gifts I love to give out from now until Christmas.

I know it's mostly a holiday-themed set, but I added a little pie in there too, for Thanksgiving. ha.

I have 2 cards to show you today: one that is more Christmas-themed and the other, more fall-themed.



Let's start with Christmas, because it really is my favorite! I stamped the bear (I love him holding that mixing bowl!) and colored him in with my usual brown copic combo: E30, E31 and E33.

The little mouse is holding up a candy cane, and I'm dreaming of chocolate cake with peppermint frosting!

I started out by doing an easy sponged background with the only distress oxide ink color I have so far: Broken China. Man, that stuff spreads like butter! It's really foolproof.



To make the mouse-rolling pin-candy cane-image-cluster look as seamless as the bear, I went in and connected all of the lines once the images were adhered together.

A heat-embossed sentiment and some white gel pen accents and dots pulls the whole thing together.

My next card keeps to warmer fall colors:



I did another sponged background, this time in yellow and orange colors, with white ink flecked on to lighten it all up.

Using the same colors for the bear, I also added in some E37 for extra depth.

The bunny is holding a hot pie. I'm assuming it's apple. Instead of giving the mouse something to hold, I have him peering into the mixing bowl. I think he's so sweet with his huge ears!



The critters were adhered to the base with foam tape, as was the chunky frame and the sentiment flag. A smattering of gold sequins finishes it off.

I hope you like my cards! Let me know what you think of Holiday Baking, or tell me about your favorite thing to bake for the fall - you could win a Neat and Tangled store gift card at the end of the week.

Check out the NT blog this morning for more - CLICK!

♥.

You're pretty (Neat and Tangled release week)

Hi there!

If you are looking for my Lawn Fawn/SSS STAMPtember post, scroll down or click HERE.

We're kicking off this month's Neat and Tangled release with a closer look at You're Pretty, a set designed by Danielle.

I made a card to give to my daughter, all pink and girly. I added a few critters from another new set, Holiday Baking, which you'll see more of tomorrow!



I stamped the big, hand-lettered sentiment onto a piece of Lawn Fawn watercolor wishes paper, and added plenty of white gel pen accents.



I layered it onto a sheet of pink grid patterned paper and splattered pink ink over it. The bunny and mouse are pointing to the sentiments, which I think is pretty darn cute.

I hope you like it! Check out the NT blog this morning for more - CLICK!

♥.